


Once We Start, It's Hard To Stop

by Sadbhyl



Series: Smith & Harkness [14]
Category: Sarah Jane Adventures, Sarah Jane Smith (Big Finish Audio), Torchwood
Genre: F/M, Gen, Jossed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-30
Updated: 2011-08-30
Packaged: 2017-10-23 06:39:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/247307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sadbhyl/pseuds/Sadbhyl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No more secrets.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Once We Start, It's Hard To Stop

**Author's Note:**

> This series was originally written waaaay back when, starting in May of 2006, shortly after School Reunion aired and a few months before the premiere of Torchwood, when the Sarah Jane Adventures were barely an idea. Which explains some of the poor characterization in the early chapters, especially Ianto. I struggled with the idea of revising to fit canon, but decided to leave it as an archive. Everything's pretty much Jossed, but have fun with it anyway.

Afterwards they lay loosely entwined, damp skin still clinging to each other as they recovered.

Sarah hadn’t felt this good in a long time. Probably too long.

Jack propped up on one elbow to look down at her, trailing his fingers down between her bare breasts. “So, what was he like?”

She closed her eyes to indulge in the sensation. “Who?”

“The Doctor.”

“I don’t know.” She grinned wickedly, not opening her eyes. “I never slept with him.”

Jack chuckled. “Well, I’m not sure if you missed out more or he did.” His warm mouth sucked a gentle kiss on her shoulder as his fingers flared out, covering her stomach. Which didn’t mean he was distracted. “When you traveled with him, what was he like?”

The Doctor was a million miles away, out somewhere in space and time, and still, for the both of them, he was right there in the bed with them. No one else would ever understand that. But Jack did. “When I first met the Doctor,” she curled her fingers around his wrist as she thought, allowing them to coast up and down his forearm as she spoke, “he was a dashing middle aged gentleman with a shock of white hair and a hawkish nose, very opinionated and stubborn. I had to prove myself with him over and over again.” She couldn’t help but smile at the memory.

His mouth traced along the line of her collarbone. “You say when you first met.”

She nodded, letting her eyes follow her fingers up to his shoulder. “He regenerated not long after. He still had the nose and the obstinance, but he was tall as a tree and with all these great brown curls and big teeth. He’s the one I traveled with, all those years.” The memories of those times stole her vision, drifting her momentarily among the stars.

“Sounds a lot like mine,” his murmured words brought her back. “Well, the nose and opinions and the teeth.”

“I think they’re all alike, in essence. I’ve met five, no, six now, counting Rose’s, and while they’ve all been very different men, most of those differences are ephemeral. The things that are important, the things that make him _him_ , those are always the same.”

His eyes darkened. “You met Rose’s? Not the one in the picture, you mean?”

“No, I’m not sure when that was taken. The man I met had kind eyes and a brilliant smile and hands that…” She stopped, sheepish. “He was just taking Mickey onboard, if that helps you place it.”

“Mickey?” Jack pulled back. “Mickey the Idiot’s traveling on the TARDIS now?”

“Hey! Mickey’s a good kid, with a good head on his shoulders. The Doctor could do a lot worse.” She hesitated. “I take it he wasn’t on board with you? From the picture, I couldn’t tell.”

“No. That was the first time we met.” He grinned, but there was something haunted about it. “Guess he replaced me, huh?”

“Jack.” Sarah ran her hand into his hair, enjoying the coarseness of it against her palm as she captured his attention. “He didn’t replace you. He never replaces us. It’s just what he does. He lets each of us into his life for a little while, but he has to move on. If he stayed and waited for us to live our lives, he wouldn’t be able to do all the things that he needs to. It’s a gift, the time he gives us, and we should be grateful for that.”

His strong hand came up to curl in her hair, his eyes searching her face for something. “He came back for you.”

Jack just seemed so lost. She had seen his confidence, his brashness, and to see him brought so low just broke her heart. “No, he didn’t.” Pushing back, she rolled them until she hovered over him, soothing the lines in his handsome face. “We just happened to be in the same place at the same time. It was bound to happen, I suppose.”

“I hope so.”

“Why is it so important?” His vehemence worried her. “You have a purpose here, friends, people who rely on you. You have a life, Jack.”

“But I don’t know why.” His arm curved around her waist, warm and heavy as it rested on the small of her back. “I died, Sarah. I was shot by a Dalek and I died.” The haunted look in his eyes deepened. “And then I woke up. Who wakes up from being dead? I need to know why, and he’s the only one with answers.”

“You traveled with him and you still think there are answers to everything?” She smiled. “Not even the Doctor knows everything. Sometimes things just are.” Cupping his cheek, she forced him to meet her eyes, trying to get him to see her sincerity. “He’s touched our lives, and nothing in them will ever be ordinary again. But he wouldn’t want us to waste those lives after he’s gone. We can’t live for him, Jack.”

“Isn’t that what you’re doing?”

It was a childish attack, but it still struck home. Sarah pulled back, her expression hardening. “No, it’s not. Not any more. But just because he’s not here doesn’t mean I can’t still help him. The world needs him. The question is, what about you, Jack? Are you going to help him? Or do you only care about yourself?”

He shoved himself up on his elbows to glare at her. “That’s not fair.”

“Nothing is fair, Jack.” Pulling away, she sat up and reached for her robe. “I don’t have time to be fair.”

Lean fingers curled around her arm as she moved to stand, drawing her back down into the bed and into Jack’s arms. He pushed the hair back off her face, his eyes intense but sympathetic. “I’m not going to do anything to hurt him. I promise. For his sake, for my sake, for yours.” He sealed the vow with the faintest of kisses, but it was enough to soften her anger, warming her with the intimate remembrance of everything he had done with that mouth. “Just tell me what to do.”

She relaxed, allowing him to gather her in closer. This was how he communicated best, with caresses and physical contact, and she was weak enough to allow it. They were alike, the two of them, in more ways than Sarah was comfortable acknowledging. There was a connection between them, and no matter how good the sex was, it was that connection that made her feel alive again.

“I will.” Lowering her head, she stole a taste of his generous mouth, welcoming the breach of his tongue when he pulled her on top of him.

“Later.”


End file.
